Shloka 13
Droṇavadha-saṃniveśaḥ — The Convergence Toward Droṇa’s Fall
Book 7, Chapter 164
सुवर्णपुड्खैरिषुभिराचितौ तौ व्यराजताम् । खटद्योतैरावृती राजन् प्रावषीव वनस्पती,राजन! सुवर्णमय पंखवाले बाणोंसे व्याप्त होकर वे दोनों योद्धा वर्षाकालमें जुगनुओंसे व्याप्त हुए दो वृक्षोंक समान सुशोभित हो रहे थे
suvarṇapuḍkhair iṣubhir ācitau tau vyarājatām | khaṭadyotair āvṛtī rājan prāvaṣīva vanaspatī ||
Sañjaya dit : Ô roi, ces deux guerriers, couverts de toutes parts de flèches aux empennages d’or, brillaient d’un vif éclat—comme deux arbres en saison des pluies, enveloppés d’un essaim de lucioles. L’image souligne la splendeur sombre du combat : même lorsque les corps sont transpercés, la vaillance et la constance peuvent paraître rayonnantes, mais cette beauté naît de la violence.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse offers a reflective contrast: the battlefield can appear outwardly radiant through poetic imagery, yet that radiance arises from wounds and weaponry. It invites discernment about the cost of war even when valor and martial excellence are praised within kṣatriya-dharma.
Sañjaya describes two opposing warriors in close combat who are so densely struck by arrows with golden fletchings that they look visually resplendent—likened to monsoon-season trees glittering with fireflies—conveying both intensity and spectacle of the fight.